Tooele presenters report high use, service expansion and placement challenges at Harris Community Village; county data shows large affordable-housing shortfall

Tooele — SwitchPoint and the Tooele County Housing Authority gave a joint update to the Tooele City Council on Jan. 15 about operations at Harris Community Village, reporting steady demand for shelter services, a broad set of on-site programs and continuing barriers placing people who need higher medical or behavioral care.

At the work meeting, Wirimu Bayless, regional director for SwitchPoint Tooele Community Resource Centre, said the Harris Village emergency shelter opened Jan. 4, 2024, and operates “a 44 to 52 bed shelter.” Bayless described a fixed-bed configuration of 18 men’s beds, 12 women’s beds and seven family rooms that vary in size to accommodate two to seven people.

“The kitchen is serving up to 1,200 meals a week,” Bayless said, and SwitchPoint reports about 65,520 meals served from the Harris kitchen since the shelter opened. The campus runs a food pantry that SwitchPoint said served 1,930 families — about 4,550 individuals — during the October 1, 2023 to September 30, 2024 reporting period. Bayless said the pantry issues roughly 60 to 100 food boxes per day and estimated average box weight between 50 and 80 pounds.

Bayless spoke about ancillary services on the Harris campus: a thrift store whose proceeds help fund shelter operations, a coffee shop microbusiness, Stepping Stones Child Care (a licensed center that opened in May 2024 and currently has 52 children enrolled) and case management, laundry, shower, and drop-in services. He said about 200 people access the campus’ drop-in services at various times.

Bayless described an internal expectation that clients engage with case managers and said…